(SPEEDWAY 1)

THE men bidding to keep Peterborough on track say they are ‘overwhelmed’ by the response to their survival package.Long-serving club official Trevor Swales and Ged Rathbone, who joined the management team during this year, have teamed up in a bid to ensure Panthers race on in 2015.Swales said: “The amount of financial backing we have already received has astounded us. It clearly shows how much passion there is for speedway in Peterborough.“We are now just over halfway towards raising the amount of money we feel is required to make the club a viable proposition.“There are still some hurdles to be overcome and we clearly still have a lot of hard work to do, but I am optimistic that we will be in a position to go to the British Speedway Promoters’ Association annual meeting at the end of next week with the intention of racing on.”

(SPEEDWAY 2)

NATIONAL League champions Cradley have only a 50/50 chance of coming to the tapes next season.Heathens have lost the use of Wolverhampton’s Monmore Green track in 2015 and have so far failed in their bid to secure a piece of land of their own within the Dudley or Sandwell region.Cradley chairman Nigel Pearson said: “We acknowledge this is a worrying time for our supporters and as a management team we promise to do all we can to ensure Cradley Heathens come to the tapes for the 2015 season.“I won’t comment on potential venues for our home meetings because it would be unwise to do so at this stage. It isn’t a simple, straightforward process when it comes to operating on a track which ultimately isn’t our own.”